


Imprisoned in the Viewless Winds

by Jaeger Gipsy Danger (Carleen)



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, High Chaos (Dishonored)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-14 23:09:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8032645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carleen/pseuds/Jaeger%20Gipsy%20Danger
Summary: Orphaned and starving, Corvo Attano was just another one of the hundreds of feral children running wild on the streets of Karnaca. His fate waits for him beyond the gates of Karnaca. His destiny lies in surviving childhood to achieve fame, honor, and respect. But fate and destiny are fickle mistresses...





	1. Death Will Have His Day

* * *

"Woe, destruction, ruin, and decay;

The worst is death, and death will have his day."

—Shakespeare, _Richard II_ , Act III, scene 2, line 102 

* * *

     With the misguided momentum born of exhaustion, Corvo Attano overestimated the distance to the narrow ledge. The _Blink_ slammed his weary body into the scummy stonewall with enough force to knock the breath from his body. Fatigue clawed him down and forced him to his knees gasping for air. A bloody hand scraped dirty hair back from his face and revealed a fresh tear on the shoulder seam of his coat. It's nothing compared to the abrasions on his hands or the untreated the bullet wound on his left shoulder. Corvo cradled his arm against his chest. The bullet wound is a week old now. Three days ago, one of the city guards caught him with a knife and slashed his left forearm open. The wound hasn't healed and seeps blood that soaked his linen. This morning, when he tried to clean the open gash a sweetish smell wrinkled his nose. A fever simmered under the surface of his tired body making him lightheaded. Perhaps the Rat Fever has caught up to him, at last?

     At his feet lay the city of Dunwall. Dark and quiet she the scent of death that clung to the occasional breath of fresh air, choking it and sending it down to the corruption that consumed the City. The city called to him, every step dragging his feet as if he walked through thick mud. Gripping what's left of a metal railing, Corvo forced his body upright. Six months in prison taught him to ignore such things as cold, fatigue, and pain. It's the guilt and grief he cannot control. It held him in an almost constant state of hyper-awareness. Cloaked in the inky miasma of Dunwall City, Corvo clutched at the metal railing and fought his body's urging to release him into oblivion.

     With a groan, he couldn't suppress Corvo raised his eyes to the Wrenhaven River, where Burrow's Lighthouse rose from the swirling mist of Kingsparrow Island. Where Emily and his fate awaited. He didn't expect to live through the night and giving his life to save Emily was a small price to pay. The closer he gets to the island the farther away it seems, but he's got to keep moving.

_Honestly, Corvo. I never expected you to become sloppy. You almost fell. I didn't give you those gifts just so you could dash yourself across the cobblestones. Rather like bird droppings."_

     The mad chuckling of The Outsider faded, and Corvo allowed himself to lean against the wall while he tried to catch his breath. Each breath an agonizing effort, as pain built one upon the other. Dying on this rusted landing is out of the question. Corvo closed his eyes and searched for a happy memory from which to draw strength.

     An orphaned child alone of the city streets of Karnaca, Corvo is now a man full grown. For many years, he was nothing more than one of the hundreds of children living on the streets with little chance of surviving into adulthood. Many of the children didn't even know their own names. Corvo was different, he knew his name, and he learned how to survive. Survival meant fighting. The battle for food occurred daily and often led to the death of one of the combatants. The city guards never intervened. Instead, they wagered on which child might win the fight for the scraps of bread. Corvo always won. His fighting skills earned him a reputation and the guards began to recognize him. He also learned a valuable lesson, that to live another day meant killing. Corvo knows what it means to kill innocents. The blood on his hands burns him with guilt.

     Fighting built muscles and extra food helped him grow straight and tall. As the boy grew into a man, the local prostitutes also began to notice. To amuse themselves they allowed him inside their house. Allowed him to bathe and fed him. They taught him to read and write and conduct himself like a gentleman. He ate their food and absorbed their lessons. They told him he was handsome. If he were, as they insisted a handsome man that he would use that tool to survive. He never noticed when they secretly laughed at the determined young man while bickering about who would get the honor to teach Corvo about the mysteries of sex.

     He called their bluff on the night of his fifteenth birthday when he presented himself to the new girl named Sally. She had long red-brown hair and eyes the color of a summer sky. Only a little more experienced than Corvo, which is to say, not at all, they spent the night together exploring and learning. By morning, they felt they must be in love. He rescued her from the life of a prostitute and won her heart. They dreamed and planned for a better life. Early the next day while the whorehouse slept, Corvo and Sally fled the city.

     He took her to a boarding house, gave her almost half the money he earned doing odd jobs and left her with the promise that he would come back for her. But a young man has dreams and ambitions. One fight led to another until soon he began winning prizes. Corvo traveled all over the city competing for money and glory. It's not as if he meant to abandon her. He loved her, didn't he? He would keep winning, the someday soon he planned to go back for her.

     Corvo never saw her again.

     One evening taking a shortcut on his way to a competition Corvo found himself in an alley thick with sewage and rotten food. As the night closed in, the sound of his name drew his attention to a shadowed form. He found a woman lying in a pool of blood. When he recognized her and stopped, she grabbed his arm.

     Corvo? Is it you? Such a fine man you've grown into. Don't worry yourself about me, Sweetie. I'm done for. The dirty cove didn't find me money purse. You take it."

     "Nancy?" Emotion swelled in his chest. Shame reminded him that he never thanked them for what they had done for him. He had to know. "What happened to Sally?"

     "She came back to us after the money ran out. She was starving...never blamed you. She was starving. I know you understand what I'm saying. You always was a good boy, Corvo. Now, go. Go, make something of yourself." Her last words came out on a stream of bloody froth, as wasted lungs rattled, and she breathed her last.

     Corvo rubbed his sleeve across his eyes and set himself to retrieve the purse. Unless they were working, the whores kept their earnings in a small leather bag inside their body. The joke among them was to keep the money in the moneymaker. He never thought it was that funny. To preserve her dignity, Corvo kept her petticoats over her legs as he reached inside. By the time his fingers found the string he was crying too hard to notice what he was doing. The bag fell very quickly into his hand, and Corvo gently smoothed down her clothes and closed her eyes. Stumbling through tears and rubble Corvo Attano ran down the alley into a broad avenue and never looked back.

     Those years showed him that courage and determination came naturally. A lonely life existing to eat and survive trained him well. Today he possessed those traits in abundance. It had nothing to do with pride. Pride was something he lost many years ago. They are the tools he used to live in his world for another day, another night, another winter. The facts of his background and skills gradually came to the attention of the ruling Duke. The young Corvo made such an impression, he planned to send him to Dunwall as a gift to the Emperor. However, before he sent the boy to Dunwall, the Duke decided he wished to enjoy the desirable young man's physical attributes himself. Desire overrode good sense, and the arrogance of his rank goaded him into planning a private evening where he could explore the young man at his leisure.

     The guards escorted Corvo to the Duke's estate. The servants bathed and dressed him then brought him before the Duke. With expertly prepared food and fine wine, the Duke began his seduction. Corvo accepted the beautiful clothes stoically. The Duke lured the muscular youth into his room where he presented additional gifts of a sword and pistol. While Corvo admired the weapons, the Duke put his soft hands on Corvo's body. Torn between appreciating the gifts and promise of a better future, the young man forced himself to stillness. When the Duke opened his clothes, Corvo shuddered as the Duke's cold fingers closed over his member.

     "Easy my, pet," the man had warbled in soothing tones stupidly thinking Corvo might be afraid. When Corvo could take no more of the man's stinking breath and dirty hands he pushed the old man away. The man shouted at him. Did he realize what he was throwing away? When the Corvo declined the Duke's invitation to become his catamite. The Duke called the guards to hold him down while he beat Corvo unconscious with a jewel-encrusted belt.

     Another lesson learned.

     The next morning, one of the women dressed his wounds and packed his weapons and clothes. The guards escorted Corvo to the dock and put him on the first boat to Dunwall City.

_Corvo, you do not have time for reminiscing. Honestly, sentimentality will be the death of you. Listen to me. I think if you dove into the water from this height, you might survive the fall. Anyway, it is the quickest way to the island. Be ready Corvo, hitting the water from this height will feel much like hitting the cobblestones. Be a good man and survive. All this waiting around is tedious. Do not forget that Emily is waiting for you. Can't you hear her screaming?_

     Corvo shook the image of The Outsider away and peered over the edge. The river roiled and swirled itself into white tipped waves below. His stomach churning Corvo tried to empty his mind and fought back a wave of nausea.

     Dunwall City had welcomed the teenage Corvo, and he thrived, honed his skills as a warrior, and soaked up knowledge like one of those sponges the fisherman pulled from the sea. Wholesome food and predictable surroundings gave him the chance to become more than just a survivor. Much more, he laughed his notoriety when he heard the ladies swooned at the sight of him and the men envied his skill with a sword.

     In another stroke of luck, the Emperor took a liking to Corvo, lifted him from the rank of file of his soldiers and gave him a place at court. As the Emperor's bodyguard, Corvo traveled with the Emperor, entertained him with tales of his childhood, and played cards with him when he was bored.

     Three years went by, until on an evening when the Emperor had one glass of wine too many he began to talk. He poured Corvo a glass of good brandy and sat him down in front of the fire.

     "You're a good boy, Corvo. A man I trust."

     Those words began a conversation that led to changes in Corvo's life. Changes that lifted him from the role of bodyguard and soldier to a member of the court. Two days later he stood on the marble steps of the gazebo outside the Tower. A girl, with a tousled head of golden brown hair and scuffed knees stood quietly next to the Emperor. When the Emperor beckoned, Corvo found himself gazing down at a blushing girl. He bowed to her, hoping to ease her shyness. She fixed her eyes on him, and he realized she wasn't shy. Far from it, she was plainly angry.

     He still remembered the scent of roses and the salty tang of the ocean breeze. Although protocol demanded she speak first, they remained silent, regarding each other in the morning light. While he gawked at the sight of this angel, standing in a shaft of golden light with a tumble of brown curls shining like a halo, a pair of inquisitive blue eyes studied him in return. Finally, he managed to avert his eyes and kept them on the ground between his feet.

     "I don't require a bodyguard. But my father says I must have one. I can fight so you'd better behave. Do you enjoy playing hide and seek, Mister Attano?"

     "I'm afraid I do not know how, My Lady."

     "How is that possible?" She asked the assorted courtiers and ignored her father's frown.

     The nineteen-year-old Corvo had never seen such a beauty. The women in his world lived in the filthy underbelly of the city far below the enchanted worlds of the Duke and Dunwall Tower. Weakened from endless childbirth, disfigured by illness, and scarred by the brutality of daily life they quickly lost what beauty they had.

     A gust from the ocean whipped his legs and brought him around. Corvo shivered and put his back against the grimy stones. He closed his eyes against the dirty stars, while his thoughts wandered back again to that day when he'd wisely dropped to one knee and kept his eyes downcast.

     "Perhaps, Jessie. If I am to become your Protector, then you could teach me?" He murmured in a tone meant for her ears only.

     "What did you call me?"

     A pair of scuffed leather shoes appeared at his feet. He knew he was taking a chance with such familiarity.

     "Why did you call me, Jessie? My name is Jessamine Kaldwin. And when I become the empress I shall be called Jessamine Kaldwin the First. Such impertinence should be punished." The small foot just under his nose stamped sending a cloud of dust into the air.

     "A slip of a girl like you needs to earn a name as grand as Jessamine, My Lady." Although he wisely chose to stay on one knee, he glanced up again. "And I cannot learn to play hide and seek if you toss me in the prison. Do you know how to swim, My Lady?"

     She sighed and shifted her gaze to the ocean. "I do not. I'm not allowed."

     "If I promise to keep you safe and you promise to teach me how to play, hide-and-seek, I'll teach you to swim."

     She had clapped her hands with delight. "You may rise."

* * *

 

"To be imprison'd in the viewless winds,

And blown with restless violence roundabout

The pendent world; or to be worse than worst

Of those, that lawless and incertain thought

Imagine howling; 'tis too horrible!"

—Shakespeare, Measure For Measure, Act III, scene 1, line 124


	2. The Fume of Sighs

 

* * *

Romeo...

"Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs;

Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes;

Being vexed a sea nourish'd with loving tears:

What is it else? a madness most discreet,"

A choking gall, and a preserving sweet."

Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_ Act 1, Scene 1

* * *

 

     The girl he called Jessie grew into the woman named Jessamine. A woman he pledged his life to protect. An Empress who trusted him to keep her safe. The lover he watched murdered at his feet helpless to save her. Too busy fighting off her attackers, he couldn't get to her. When they finally disappeared with Emily in tow, Corvo stumbled to her side in time to hear her last words and watch her die. She pleaded with him to take care of Emily. Given a little more time, he might have said, I love you, and forced her to admit that Emily was his daughter.

     Love. Never having known the emotion how he was supposed to recognize it when it captured his heart? Snatched from him at the moment of understanding, he lost the love of Jessamine before he could express what she meant to him. In the blink of an eye, Corvo lost everything. Everything but Emily. They took her, too. But he will retrieve her from the mysterious men who could appear and disappear.

     Of course, they arrested him. Hiram Burrows pointed his finger and the guards snatched him from the marble floor of the gazebo and dragged him off to prison. Six months of torture and near starvation left him weakened. They didn't require information from Corvo because they already knew everything. So they tortured him at their whim. They did it for sport and to entertain themselves on the long cold nights behind the thick stone walls of Coldridge prison.

     Revenge grew thick and evil in the back of his throat. Violence was an old friend. He knew it, and it had been his companion since childhood. Revenge was different. Revenge meant planning. Revenge meant imagining the death of those who betrayed him. No, he mused to give himself the fuel to keep going. No pistols, no dart guns, and no magical powers. They would die with his bare hands wrapped around their neck, he would look into their eyes while they died so they would know who it was that killed them.

     Jessamine's daughter needed him. He would die, if that is what's required, to save her. He cannot allow himself to think of what they might do to her. The shock and grief of the loss drove Corvo across the city killing anyone who tried to stop him from finding her and the men responsible. The terror of dying from the rat plague changed to fear of dying by the hand of the mysterious masked man.

     He had watched Jessie grow into a poised young woman. They might play games in the yard and along the shore, but inside the tower, she pulled on her mask and fell into place among her courtiers. Always, he stood silently at her shoulder. And, day by day, he fell in love with her. Everyone loved her, he was but one among hundreds. He was her friend, confidant, and partner in crime. Late at night when he lay in his lonely bunk and felt desire for her burning in his blood, he reminded himself that he was a nobody from the streets and would never be good enough for her.

     Corvo buttoned his coat, secured his weapons, drew a deep breath and dove into the black sky. Seconds ticked by as he waited to meet the water. Corvo wasn't taking this chance because the Outsider goaded him into it. He did it because The Outsider was correct, the sound of Emily calling him echoed in his head like a gong…like the death knell of distant bells. He hit the water and for the second time, that night had the wind knocked out of him. The water, the same color as the sky took him, wrapped him in its embrace, and sucked his body down. Corvo fought hard, searching frantically for the surface. Finally, with the last of his strength, his chest bursting, Corvo gasped the sweet air when he found the surface. Corvo fought the current and forced himself to swim.

     I'm coming, Emily.

     One night, during the celebration, to commemorate her sixteenth birthday she disappeared from the cavernous ballroom. One minute he watched her whirling across the dance floor in the arms of a handsome young lieutenant and the next, she was gone. While his heart hit his ribcage like an unexpected blow, he kept quiet and decided not to sound the alarm. Once outside, he went straight to the roof—he knew all her hiding places, of course. She whirled at the sound of his footsteps and dashed the wetness from her cheeks.

     His angel stood silhouetted in the moonlight. With every graceful line of her body reaching outward, toward life. Corvo's eyes followed the curve of her bosom outlined by the silver shadows. In deference to her coming of age, she wore her hair up tonight. Tendrils escaped and curled cascading down her back. In the dim light, he watched the tangle-haired tomboy change into a woman. He knew it when she walked toward him and caught his gaze.

     The battlements were quite narrow here so there's no nowhere for him to put space between them. Why he felt they needed space between them was a question he couldn't answer. The determination in her eyes halted his movement. There was something else there too. No, it couldn't be. Not that. What he saw in Jessie's eyes startled him. No, it scared him. He quickly decided someone must have hurt her feelings tonight, and he will see to it. Her hands landed on his forearm, and she stared up at him. She trusted him, but this must stop.

     She was beautiful, and although he's known it for months, tonight he sees that his Jessie is just beginning to feel the power of her femininity. And he wasn't sure what he might do if she turned that power on him. Then he had to find that answer because she's saying something and there's no little girl left in her.

     He needs her. He loves her. And she is as beyond his reach as the Dukedom of Karnaca.

     "Corvo? I overheard two of our serving girls talking this morning."

     Schooling his features into what he hoped was a parental expression, he replied, "Jessamine Kaldwin, you know better than to eavesdrop."

     Corvo only called her by her full name when he was annoyed with her. He must need reminding, so she replied, "I am the Empress…or will be. I may listen to whom I please and go where I wish."

     The haughty look left her, her eyes softened, and she leaned toward him. "Don't be angry with me, Corvo. Not tonight."

     He'd been her playmate while he indulged her childish games. Her big brother when she needed a strong shoulder or an understanding ear. Held her in his arms when she was less than a day old, guided her studies, and taught her to swim. In front of him stood, a desirable woman dressed in a form fitting doublet of blue velvet over a matching skirt. The long sleeve silk blouse she wore underneath was so fine he could see the supple muscles and soft skin beneath.

     He shook his head and stepped away. It was not for him to pull the pins from her hair, watch it cascade down her back and weave his coarse fingers into the mass of curls, tilt her head up…No. Escort her back to the ballroom. He had no right to give her the first touch of a man's passion. Did she even understand the effect she was having on him?

     She's even closer now. When had she taken those last steps to stand directly under his chin?

     "Corvo?"

     The delicate scent of her perfume pulled him in. The diamonds and sapphires in her ears twinkled, mesmerizing him. He took her firmly by the arm and led her toward the narrow staircase.      

     "Come, I will return you to the ballroom."

     She stopped.

     He stopped.

     "Don't you even want to know what they were talking about?"

     "Jessie, you must know I have no time for girlish prattle. You are a full-time job."

     Her laughter floated through the air. "And you take excellent care of me. Oh, Corvo, that's why I trust this moment to no one but you." With her hands wrapped around his upper arm, she pulled herself closer to him. Blood strummed his nerves setting them to burn.

     "Please, Corvo?"

     Where was the little girl, he could tempt into behaving with a promise of a swim or a treat from the kitchens? A strange fear caught his breath and he gave her shoulders a shake.

     "Have any of those court lackeys trifled with you?" He'd just thought of that. What if…?

     "Don't be silly Corvo," her smile held all the artless flirtation of a woman experimenting with her first man.

     If he left her alone, what if one of those court boys lured her into mischief? She was the Emperor's daughter, not some downstairs maid searching for a moment of excitement. She stood in front of him, her breasts pressing into his upper arm. What could he say to stop this? If he didn't push her away now, she might keep searching until she found another man. The idea infuriated him and in response, his hands moved over the transparent silk fabric of her sleeve.

     She turned her face to his with her fathomless brown eyes staring up at him as if he had all the answers and she trusted him to give them to her.

     His fingertips brushed the pale skin of her neck, his thumb touched the oval sapphire setting it ablaze. The fire lit her eyes. Corvo's heart pulsed with forbidden desire. He watched her fingers curl into his lapels, and he wished her hands were bare and not covered long gloves silk gloves. A thought bloomed in his mind sending his body along a path he could no longer control. Such a long time since he's touched a woman. How would the silk covered fingers feel on his skin? The thought of her bare hands on his chest sent his thoughts reeling.

     "Jessie," he breathed trying to remember he was the adult. The adult, they both needed to be strong. That this child-woman leaning against him was not his to know. He bent his head and found his nose buried in the soft curls.

     Instead of the healthy dusty sweat of a tomboy or the nursery soap-washed scent of a child, Jessie smelled of red roses, temptation, and raw desire.

     "Am I beautiful tonight, Corvo?"

     Yes, he wanted to say. For a man who's never known a moment of tenderness, he marveled at his control. Sex for him was immediate and without affection. A tender kiss a complete unknown. What if he hurt her? What if someone caught them and tossed him into the city jail? He held the Lady Jessamine in his arms. Corvo moved his body away from hers. He cannot allow her to notice the evidence of his coarse desire; she's too young, too precious.

     Her breath is warm and sweet against his cheek. Her fingers move from his chest to his cheek, then his mouth.

     "Jessie, please don't do this."

     "Corvo, please. I don't want anyone else."

     Corvo squeezed her arms and pushed her away. "Don't you understand that a man has needs? That I'm just a man, and you…you're a beautiful woman."

     "I'm only asking for a kiss, not a child."

     "Jessie," he sighed and tugged her toward him, tilting her head back with one hand in her hair and the other holding her trim waist. His breath, quick and shallow against her cheek. "I wonder which one of us is the bigger fool?"

     She gave a little gasp when his lips touched hers. When her body arched into his, he caught her against him. Her hips crashing against the hard mound under his clothes made her jerk away with eyes full of disbelief.

     "Come here, Jessie. Do not fear me."

     "I'm not afraid and I am not afraid of you. Never of you. My body confuses me tonight, Corvo. I want something from you that I don't understand."

     This time, he controlled her so there were several inches between them. "You are beautiful, Jessie," he breathed against her mouth. "I want you to know that the first man to kiss you, also loves you."

     She whimpered and curled herself into him.

     The kiss lasted forever, but Corvo was not a child, and although he remembered what was expected of him as a gentleman he couldn't let her go. So he pressed her against the stone parapet and groaned into her mouth. The night held them in its moonlit shadows until a bell far below their perch signaled a change of the Watch. He reluctantly pushed her away, fixed her collar, and smoothed her hair.

     "Go, my Lady. Go back to your guests."

     Her kiss-swollen lips pouted for a moment, and then the decision was made for her when someone called her name. Then another shout ordering the guards to search for her. She stepped away and touched his cheek, "I love you, too." And disappeared into the darkness.

_Corvo? We really don't have time for reminiscing about the night you debauched the Emporer's daughter. Shocking to think how you took advantage of that girl's innocence. You've at least a mile to swim, my good man. I think you'd better concentrate more on swimming and less on the fairer sex._


	3. Imprisoned in the Viewless Winds

 

* * *

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and _the Prisoner of Azkaban_

* * *

 

Years went by while he watched her grow into a reserved and mature young woman with a clear, logical mind. As her Protector he kept her safe, as a friend, he slowly withdrew from the intimacies of their earlier friendship. Since the night of the kiss, he'd kept himself above her requests for his presence or her questions. She seemed to accept his absences. It broke his heart that she, in turn, pulled away from him.

They barely spoke when he stood at her side on official visits or parties and state dinners. His Jessie loved to entertain, so the Tower was always full of visitors, hangers-on, and assorted court lackeys. It was spring, nine months after she'd been crowned Empress, on the evening of an official dinner, that he watched her from his usual perch. A strange man managed to capture her attention. Handsome and charming, Corvo would grant him that, but he didn't like the way the man imposed himself in Jessie's space. Corvo signaled one of his men. The man nodded and moved closer to the couple.

The man was a mystery. He tried to find out the man's name, but no one knew him. When a waltz began the man gallantly steered Jessie to the tall windows. One of the guards signaled to him. Corvo watched the Empress allow the man to lead her outside.

The staircase was endless. Corvo took the marble steps two at a time He burst onto the lawn just as Jessie began to raise her voice.

"You will remove your hands from me."

"Come, my Empress. Let me show you the ways of men and women. Once

I do, you'll beg me to become your lover. I'll enjoy living with you in the Tower. We'll have such fun."

Corvo moved through the shadows on silent feet while his anger grew with every step until he stood close enough to Jessie to reach out and touch her. He spoke from the gloom, "There you are, Empress. The court demands you open a few of your gifts. Shall I escort you back inside?"

He knew better than to assume she would meekly follow his orders. He was right. A few steps inside the tower and she rounded on him.

"You overstep your authority Mr. Attano," she snapped.

"And you are the same cheeky brat I met six years ago."

Her eyes blazed, and before he could stop her, she slapped him across the face. Enraged at her foolishness and the danger of allowing herself into the hands of that idiot, Corvo picked her up by the arms and pushed her inside a small antechamber.

"I will protect you, Jessie," he hissed.

"And I will do as I please. Now let me go."

"And will it please you when an animal like that man in the garden takes what is only yours to give?"

She laughed in his face until her breath hitched and a silent sob made its way down her cheek. Corvo touched his lips to the solitary tear and wrapped her in his arms.

Two nights later, Corvo woke to Jessie's slim form spooned against his backside. Instantly awake he tried to turn and push her out of his bed. Somehow, she managed to slide under him. Now her breasts flattened against his chest. His arousal is pressed against the flesh of her leg seeking attention.

Corvo clamped his jaw shut and forced his desire away. Because that's all it was. A bodily function that could be sated with any whore. And that is what he'll do. He'll take Jessie back to her room and… Her breath pushed and swirled the hair on his chest. It tickled. So he shifted only to discover his thigh dropped between her legs and found the warmth of her innocent gift.

He glanced down, and that was a mistake because the candlelight reflected the red strands of her hair as it lay tumbled across his pillow. Her hands found his face and tried to pull him down. Corvo noticed the shine of tears in her eyes.

"You don't belong here, Jessie. Fear me. I beg you." He said with his fingers stroking her cheek.

"No, Corvo. Never you. I love you. Is that enough?"

"Yes. But it will not stop you from hating me in the morning when you regret what you've done tonight."

Corvo dipped his nose into the curve of her neck. Good, she will leave now. He knew her. She'll get angry and leave. He shifted away from her, but she caught his hips with one of her long legs and pulled him close.

"I am only a man, Jessie. And I could not bear your hatred."

"I will never hate you." She ghosted her lips over his cheek. "I will never regret this night, and I will always love you."

"And I love you, Jessie."

"Corvo, my only love. We have one night, and we're wasting it."

Corvo pulled slightly away and allowed himself to gaze at the naked body of his Empress. The love he felt for her changed at that moment. Their first kiss on the roof, the sight of her curves glistening with sea water when they swam. Her laughter and her humor, courage and tenacity.

"Jessie?" His voice rising with anger. "What if one the guards followed you here? He would let his anger bloom to cover the hardness of his body in reaction to the perfect symmetry of her naked form. His heart pounded, as his eyes raked across her body. When his lips followed his gaze, she arched toward him. When he caught a nipple with his lips, she tore her fingers into his hair. When he sucked her breast into his mouth, she cried out his name.

"Hush, Jessie." To silence her, he kissed her deeply, delving freely into the sweetness of her pliant lips. Instead of his mouth, he used his hands. At the touch of his fingers, her legs opened obediently. Corvo tucked her face into his chest and shivered when his fingers touched the warm center of his Jessie.

She tried to escape his embrace when his fingers began to circle and tease.

"Corvo, s-stop."

Corvo let her head fall back to watch her face while he brought her to climax.

"Stay with me," he murmured.

Her legs fell open while her thighs quivered. To distract her from what he was about to do he captured her breast again with his mouth. When her body arched in response, Corvo slid a finger inside.

He smiled against her flesh when instead of fighting him she began to push against his hand. He'd never made love to such a desirable woman. Hell, he'd never made love before. Sex, yes. But not this. Never with such tenderness bound up with what he felt for her. Her words changed to incoherent moans as her body took over from her protests. Fear drifted away, replaced by the burning and undeniable need for release. Corvo watched her face when her eyes suddenly opened. Her mouth formed a silent oh and Corvo felt the first waves of her climax wash across his fingers.

Gently. Slowly. Corvo moved over her. She seemed to know what he needed when her legs opened for him. Corvo guided himself inside her. Built over years of friendship and denial his body demanded satisfaction. Demanded that he move and pound himself into her to sate his lust. Not his Jessie. Not this delicate virgin laying so trustingly beneath him. No, he would go slow and allow her body to adjust to him.

The Empress Jessamine Kaldwin I, had waited long enough to experience this moment with Corvo. Dreamt of him. Desired him before she understood the word. First with the hero worship of a child, then later with the passion of a woman. Jessie tilted her hips and shifted impatiently. When she scraped her nails up his back, his head came up in surprise. She raised her head to move her mouth across the planes and curves of his chest. She nipped at his skin.

"Stop…" he gasped.

She smiled. He felt her smile. Then Jessie very deliberately sank her teeth into the firm line of his pectoral muscle, and he was lost.

Time went by. They argued. He insisted she marry. She will never marry, she assured him. "Why should I," she asked? With all the guileless innocence of the child he once knew, "I have everything I need." Then she would pick up the baby girl she never explained, or slip her hand into his, pat his arm, and take him to the library or to the docks or to her chambers.

That gift of grace and kindness was gone. Torn from him. Slaughtered in front of him and gone forever. Stripped down to what he used to be he killed for revenge. He killed because they had more than he ever could call his own and he despised them for their excess. For their whiskey and their cigars. For the years, he worked like a slave and the weeks of torture.

Deep inside the prison walls, it infuriated them that he wouldn't scream. Finally, on a night, when the ice dripped rhythmically down the mossy stonewalls, and his body tried to release itself into death, he realized they would not stop until he did. The fourth time they touched the hot poker to his feet he screamed. He screamed for his dead Jessie, and for Emily, He screamed because he failed them. They laughed at him for his weakness. When they tossed him back in his cell, he curled into himself and wept.

Tonight, crawling out of the icy water Corvo listened to the city moan and wail in its death throes. Is this his doing? The City Guards were a known terror. But the tales he heard about a masked man slaughtering anyone who stood in his way could only be his fault.

He heard them say no one understood why the mysterious man was killing so many innocent people. What was he doing, they asked themselves? Perhaps he was following orders to kill off those who still lived. They asked each other why? They had no answers so the remaining citizens of Dunwall moved deep inside the city where they might find safety from the masked man, the plague, and the terror-filled streets. Corvo inhaled the scent of violence festering in the blood and rot of the city streets.

Still, on his hands and knees, Corvo drank the last of his fresh water. The stolen food he relied on to keep moving was gone. Days since he found a loaf of bread, even longer since he found clean water or medicine. But there's a tin of whale meat in his pocket. He'll wait until the last minute to eat it. Emily might be hungry, too. He'll wait and share it with her. Then he'll take her home. If she needs to cry, he will hold her. If nightmares interrupt her sleep, then he will be there when she needs someone to banish the demons. And he will be there for her each evening and every morning for the rest of his life.

_Corvo, you are starving to death. You won't be any use to Emily if you're dead. She's frightened, Corvo. She wants her mother and wonders if you are her father. A real father would have rescued her by now. A real father would have protected her mother from those evil men._

Thirst closed his throat while hunger gnawed at his belly. The needs of his exhausted body shouted for acknowledgment. He yearned to simply lie down and let himself go. He cannot succumb to his weaknesses. He cannot let them win. Emily needs him. He must set right was has gone wrong.

Stopping had been a mistake. His delirious mind conjured the sound of Emily's voice. When his weary eyes stare into the night, Jessie is there, staring back at him with her dark eyes liquid with passion, then darken in death. And if he failed, then in a handful of days, perhaps tonight or tomorrow night they will sweep him into the pile of bodies and load him on the train.

Retching and coughing, Corvo vomited into the rocks. Rising to his feet, forcing his legs to hold him upright, Corvo concealed himself in the shadows and moved toward the lighthouse. All around him, guards talked of cigars, whiskey, and the women they'd bedded. His hatred of them fueled his movements. Corvo felt the chaos vibrating his bones, while the shadow of death kept him hidden. Even the rats scuttled across the slimy stones, gnawing on anything that looked edible and fighting each other for scraps. Although Corvo knew they hunted him, they never noticed the solitary man moving through Kingsparrow Fort.

A storm rushed in from the sea obscuring the lighthouse until only the lights were visible. One of those lights was Emily.

_My goodness, Corvo. What a mess you've made. Rushing around provoking violence has the entire city up in arms. It's delicious to feel the chaos churning. The people shivering in terror. Do you feel it, Corvo? Are you even aware of what you've done? All for your personal revenge and to save a little girl. Even Samuel turned against you at the end, didn't he? Such a shame._

"Leave me alone!" Corvo shouted through clenched teeth. The sound of his anguished cry echoed, bouncing from building to building and across the fog patched ground.

Booted feet and the sound of weapons.

Corvo flattened himself against the wall.

"When I find you…I know you're here...Over here! I can smell him."

He hated them all. He hated the mocking sounds of their voices. He could kill everyone one of them. Revenge turned his hands into claws, and his chest rattled as he gasped to control his breathing. If they find him…too many of them and only one of him.

I'm coming, Emily.

The steps of the lighthouse swim in his vision. The fort had been crawling with guards, but here in the gilded halls of this shrine of greed and arrogance, it was silent. The first step caught him and drove him to his hands and knees. The bullet wound sent a shock of pain through him and forced a cry of pain.

Corvo stumbled to a velvet settee. He's dying. Ironic that it's his own body that will betray him in the end. His chest rattled with fever and infection. Red streaks of poison spread like a spider's web over his chest and arm.

"I'm sorry, Jessie. I failed you." Grief overwhelmed him, and moisture began to trickle down his cheeks tracing a line through the soot and blood.

_Do get up, Corvo. This is becoming all too melodramatic. What you need is some motivation. Pendleton is here. Can't you smell him? Such a sad little man. Did you know Pendleton loves little girls, almost as much as he loves little boys? He really is a slimy fellow. I shudder to think what he has in store for Emily if you fail. If you have one more murder in you, I really think you should take care of him. I don't think it's asking too much, is it? After all, what's one more murder, more or less? Better hurry, Corvo. I believe Pendleton is about to get the job done for you._

A scream and the sound of a pistol brought Corvo to his feet.

"Emily!" Corvo began to run through corridors bathed in soft light, past furniture covered expensive leather, embroidered fabric and gold leaf. Large oak doors inlaid with precious metals yielded to him as if they weighed nothing. The scent of coppery stench blood stopped him. The door opened slowly. Treavor Pendleton lay slouched against the wall, a head wound leaking over the parquet floor. Pendleton turned lifeless eyes to Corvo, "You want money? Well, I'm broke…Pendleton turned lifeless eyes to Corvo, "You want money? Well, I'm broke…You like noblewomen? You should meet my cousin, Celia!" Blood bubbled out his mouth as he choked on his own laughter and breathed no more.

_Too bad. Looks as if Pendleton saved you the trouble. The Void grows impatient, Corvo. All your friends are here, and you and I will have such excellent conversations._

Another set of stairs and a long hallway. A large decorative room and the sound of voices beckoned, Corvo stepped inside and allowed the door to close behind him. Teague Martin is face down on the table and quite dead.

"You'll learn, my dear Emily. Once you start ordering people killed to get your way, everything else is mere detail."

"I'll never do what you say. Never!"

"I'll be the father you never really had. You'll see."

"Corvo is my father."

"What makes you think that, my dear? And most importantly why would you want it to be true?"

A door slammed, and Corvo rushed toward the voices only to watch Havelock drag Emily outside. They locked eyes over the Admiral's shoulder. Corvo raised his finger to his lips. He needn't have worried; Emily stayed quiet and turned her attention back to Havelock. Outside the storm raged around them. Any reference to up or down lost its meaning as they stood on the rain-swept deck.

"Havelock!"

"Ah, there you are Corvo. I wondered where you got off to. Rather hoped you were dead by now. No matter. Well, my dearest Emily, I'm afraid we'll have to move on now."

Havelock to a step toward the edge.

Corvo's throat went dry, but he managed to shout over the storm. "Be still, Emily."

"I won't let you have her, Corvo. And, I do not fear death."

If he used Blink in his condition, he could knock them all over the edge. He no longer trusted himself to use the powers the Outsider gave him.

_Good choice, Corvo. I wouldn't trust you either. Such a mess. And you had it all. The love of a good woman, a child, status, and power if you chose to wield it properly. The disgust in the Outsider's voice was unmistakable._

"Get out of my head! She's not my daughter."

_I thought you were smarter than that. Just look into her eyes, Corvo. You seduced an Empress, got her with child, and forced her to give birth as an unmarried woman through your own refusal to claim what was so obviously yours. Well, done. Well, done._

"Shut up!"

Corvo cried and began to run. It took the last of his strength to do it. The rain and his fading eyesight blinded him from the deck beneath his feet. His feet slipped on the slick metal. He will get to Emily…his daughter. That's his daughter. He remembered the day she was born. His Jessie lay sleeping when he tiptoed into the room. He found the small cradle in the darkness and when he knelt down the small bundle wrapped in pink blankets opened her eyes. Corvo lost his heart when a pudgy hand caught his hand and wrapped her little hand around his calloused finger. Why had he never questioned Jessie about Emily? Why had they never married? Why hadn't he taken the time to express his love for her every single day of their years together? Instead, he played the obedient courtier, always following orders and never questioning.

He didn't get a dozen steps before Havelock backed off the platform with Emily in his arms.

Yes, he'd been right all along. He would not survive this night. Corvo stopped moving to listen to Emily's screams. When they stopped, Corvo began walking. The edge is closer now. He kept his eye on the spot where he saw her fall and kept walking.

A moment more and he'll join his daughter and his Jessie.

A few more feet.

Corvo Attano walked into the night.


	4. Imprisoned in the Viewless Winds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilog

* * *

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages." —William Shakespeare

* * *

 

Piero Joplin shuffled up the stairs to look in on his guests. He only had a minute to spare before he had to head back to the Hound Pits and prepare for the dinner crowd. If the lunch crowd were any indication, this would be a very long day. No matter, the Hound Pits bar, and hotel were his now. No more intrigue and no more politics. After the death of those bastards Martin, Pendleton and Havelock the damn place had become a famous location. People—the ones lucky enough to survive the rat plague—emerged from their homes and turned back to living their lives.

With fewer people to feed, the survivors banded together and cleared out the city. The bodies were burned and their ashes buried. The city sewers were cleared and repaired. Windows were reglazed and homes secured. The weapons, those horrible weapons were dismantled, the metal sent to the foundry for melting and the mechanical parts sent to Piero's shop for study. The wealthy families, especially the Boyles donated food and money to help with restoration and feed those who lost everything. Just yesterday, the gates of the city were opened for the first time in months, and gradually, life was returning to normal.

Piero paused outside the door, listening to the sound of pages turning and the scratch f a quill on parchment. He cracked the door open and smiled.

A thin care-worn face, lined with stress and illness turned on the pillow.

"Piero? Is that you?"

"Don't you believe your own eyes? It's good to see you awake."

"How long…?"

"Well, after our young Empress here saved your life, we got you back here quick as we could. I won't lie to you, Corvo. You were in bad shape."

"I sent for a healer all by myself."

Corvo's head swiveled, and he flung back the blankets and rose with his arms outstretched. The Empress tumbled into his embrace.

"Emily. Emily. You're…you're alive."

"Of course, I'm alive Father." She hugged him with all her strength and used her small hands to smooth the trembling shoulders.

He pulled back and framed her face with his hands, "I saw you go over the edge with Havelock."

Piero interrupted, "Corvo, she stayed right here with me while you were out running missions. Smart as a whip and pestering me with questions night and day."

"Mr. Joplin taught me how to protect myself and how to climb and make myself almost invisible. I'm sorry I scared you, Father. Mr. Havelock didn't notice that I slipped out of his arms. He was so scared, but I wasn't. When he stepped off the edge, I already had my feet jammed in the railing. Then you came, Father. I screamed for you to notice me, but you kept walking. Then you finally looked at me, but I don't think you recognized me, and grabbed the rope. Please don't scare me like that again."

Overwhelmed, Corvo could only hold her close, soothing them both to understand the terror was finally over.

"I promise, sweetheart. I promise I won't scare you again." He kissed her cheek and her forehead, "Thank you for saving my life. Emily, I love you as if you were mine, you know that. But I don't think it's a good idea for you to call me father. We don't know the truth of that."

"Yes, we do." She sighed and rolled her eyes in a fair imitation of her mother. For a moment, Corvo couldn't breathe. "For one thing, I overheard those men talk about how everyone knew you and my mother were lovers. You can explain what that word means to me later. I do think that it has something to do with making babies. Mr. Havelock wrote in his diaries that he always thought you were my father." She dragged a thick old book across the bed and climbed into Corvo's lap. "Now, look at this. These are the court records, and I've been looking them over. If I am to be a good Empress, then there's a lot of things I have to learn. Here's your name, Father. The court secretary entered your name here when you came to work for my grandfather."

Corvo managed to take his eyes off Emily to look down at the cramped writing on the narrow columns. He found his name fairly quickly. Then emotion grabbed his throat and choked him with fresh tears. He didn't bother to hide them from his daughter because there in old fashioned script was his full name, Corvo Emil Attano and the year he joined the Emperor's Court.

"See, Father? She named me after you."

"Yes, my beautiful girl, I see."

* * *

 

"Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love." —William Shakespeare


End file.
